USC product Anderson stays in the mix at BMW Charity Pro-Am

Published: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 12:41 a.m.

GREER — USC product Mark Anderson’s second round Friday at the BMW Charity Pro-Am was far more erratic than his opener, although he still navigated some rough patches to find himself only one back of leader Franklin Corpening.

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Corpening, a 28-year-old Web.com Tour rookie playing only his eighth event, fired a 6-under 66 at The Reserve at Lake Keowee to tie the tournament’s low 36-hole record of 15 under and is one of only three players to have avoided bogey.

Tom Hoge, like Corpening a Texas Christian University product, is tied with Anderson for second after posting 8-under 63 at Thornblade. Auburn product Roland Thatcher tied Keegan Bradley’s Thornblade record with a 61 to jump into a tie for seventh. Clemson product/Greenville resident Ben Martin is two back in a tie for fourth after a 66 at Chanticleer.

Anderson, who shared the first-round lead at 9 under, posted a 5-under 67 at Chanticleer with a wild final nine holes (starting at No. 1) that included only one par. He breezed through Thursday’s opener at The Reserve with seven birdies, an eagle, and no bogeys.

“(Thursday) wasn’t easy, but it was pretty clean while Friday was a little bit trickier,” Anderson said of Chanticleer, which has played as the toughest of the three-course rotation.

“Chanticleer is a little more demanding and you’ve really got to drive it well and for the most part I did well. The back nine was interesting with just one par, but two of those three bogeys were 3-putts so those are easily avoidable. I’ve made a bunch of birdies and that’s what you have to do.”

Anderson came to the turn at 3 under on the day before going bogey, birdie, bogey on Nos. 2-4. He then birdied the next three before concluding with a bogey on No. 8 and a birdie at the very tough ninth.

“I’ve hit the ball pretty good so I’ve hit it close a bunch and have had some easy putts for birdies which is nice, while the 3-putts are just a lack of concentration or misreading the putt a little bit,” Anderson said. “I normally try and play more aggressive, but if anything today I played more conservative because I wanted to hit the fairway. I didn’t hit very many drivers because you want to just get the ball in play and then you can attack the golf course.”

One of his goals is to play the par-5s in at least 3-under combined and he did that for a second consecutive day.

Only two players, including tour leading money winner Edward Loar (64), bested Martin’s 66 at Chanticleer after the 25-year-old appeared on his way to a ho-hum round at best. Martin, who began the round at No. 10, turned at even-par after enduring a pair of 3-putts over the first-nine.

“I didn’t have the speed down on the greens very well and you kind of attribute that to playing different courses each day,” Martin said. “I kept knocking it by so I decided to turn back the speed and finally began to get comfortable.”

Martin stuck a 230-yard 3-iron just 15 feet past the pin on the par-5 third and sank the eagle to open the floodgates. He birdied the next four holes before two pars gave him a 30 for the final nine.

“That one on No. 3 finally rolled in and got the lid off,” said Martin, who followed with a pair of 12-footers on the next two holes. “I made two birdies on the front, but one was a 3-footer and the other a chip-in so I hadn’t make any kind of putt. Once you see that first one go in it definitely gives you confidence moving forward.”

Normally Martin and Anderson would be among the final pairings off in Round 3, but with the unique pro-am format, they will be among the first to go off instead.

“Posting a good score early would be nice,” Anderson said. “Get to the top and let everybody chase.”

<p>GREER — USC product Mark Anderson's second round Friday at the BMW Charity Pro-Am was far more erratic than his opener, although he still navigated some rough patches to find himself only one back of leader Franklin Corpening.</p><p>Corpening, a 28-year-old Web.com Tour rookie playing only his eighth event, fired a 6-under 66 at The Reserve at Lake Keowee to tie the tournament's low 36-hole record of 15 under and is one of only three players to have avoided bogey.</p><p>Tom Hoge, like Corpening a Texas Christian University product, is tied with Anderson for second after posting 8-under 63 at Thornblade. Auburn product Roland Thatcher tied Keegan Bradley's Thornblade record with a 61 to jump into a tie for seventh. Clemson product/Greenville resident Ben Martin is two back in a tie for fourth after a 66 at Chanticleer.</p><p>Anderson, who shared the first-round lead at 9 under, posted a 5-under 67 at Chanticleer with a wild final nine holes (starting at No. 1) that included only one par. He breezed through Thursday's opener at The Reserve with seven birdies, an eagle, and no bogeys.</p><p>“(Thursday) wasn't easy, but it was pretty clean while Friday was a little bit trickier,” Anderson said of Chanticleer, which has played as the toughest of the three-course rotation.</p><p>“Chanticleer is a little more demanding and you've really got to drive it well and for the most part I did well. The back nine was interesting with just one par, but two of those three bogeys were 3-putts so those are easily avoidable. I've made a bunch of birdies and that's what you have to do.”</p><p>Anderson came to the turn at 3 under on the day before going bogey, birdie, bogey on Nos. 2-4. He then birdied the next three before concluding with a bogey on No. 8 and a birdie at the very tough ninth.</p><p>“I've hit the ball pretty good so I've hit it close a bunch and have had some easy putts for birdies which is nice, while the 3-putts are just a lack of concentration or misreading the putt a little bit,” Anderson said. “I normally try and play more aggressive, but if anything today I played more conservative because I wanted to hit the fairway. I didn't hit very many drivers because you want to just get the ball in play and then you can attack the golf course.”</p><p>One of his goals is to play the par-5s in at least 3-under combined and he did that for a second consecutive day.</p><p>Only two players, including tour leading money winner Edward Loar (64), bested Martin's 66 at Chanticleer after the 25-year-old appeared on his way to a ho-hum round at best. Martin, who began the round at No. 10, turned at even-par after enduring a pair of 3-putts over the first-nine.</p><p>“I didn't have the speed down on the greens very well and you kind of attribute that to playing different courses each day,” Martin said. “I kept knocking it by so I decided to turn back the speed and finally began to get comfortable.”</p><p>Martin stuck a 230-yard 3-iron just 15 feet past the pin on the par-5 third and sank the eagle to open the floodgates. He birdied the next four holes before two pars gave him a 30 for the final nine.</p><p>“That one on No. 3 finally rolled in and got the lid off,” said Martin, who followed with a pair of 12-footers on the next two holes. “I made two birdies on the front, but one was a 3-footer and the other a chip-in so I hadn't make any kind of putt. Once you see that first one go in it definitely gives you confidence moving forward.”</p><p>Normally Martin and Anderson would be among the final pairings off in Round 3, but with the unique pro-am format, they will be among the first to go off instead.</p><p>“Posting a good score early would be nice,” Anderson said. “Get to the top and let everybody chase.”</p>